Chapter 17: The Set-up
At 10am at night Josh Hastings Entered McCafferty’s Bar on South Elm Street. The proprietor, was an Irish American named Seanie McCafferty. His Father, Jack McCafferty, a retired police officer started the bar forty years previously. Under Jack’s ownership the bar had struggled and was largely frequented by friends and family. After Seanie inherited it he tried to renovate it and give it a more modern appearance. For the most part Seanie’s efforts had worked and the bar thrived at weekends. During the week however its clientele consisted mainly of retired police officers. On this Tuesday Evening there were only a dozen customers sprinkled here and there. Seanie wasn’t on barman duty tonight. Instead, there was a tall young man, who appeared quite business like in his manner.
Sitting at the bar was a white haired man with a white beard. Aaron Hastings recognised his son instantly.
“Happy Birthday Dad,” Josh said with a smile. “How did I know that I’d find you here?”
“I don’t know son unless your Mother told you.” Aaron, rarely broke into a smile but also rarely lost his temper.
“You seem to be spending less and less time together. Is this what you spend your life savings doing?”
“It beats staring at the walls. Besides, your mother and I were never as thick as thieves. We married for love with little else in common other than our children.”
“Still you should make more of an effort.”
“Do you want a beer or not?”
“It’s your birthday, I should be the one doing the buying.” Josh ordered two more beers before sitting down on the barstool next to his Father.
“I hear you’ve been prying your nose into Nick’s suicide,” Aaron said aloud.
“It wasn’t a suicide Dad. Who told you?” Jake responded. It wasn’t like his Father to pry into his son’s behaviour or to discuss his work. For the most part, Aaron was proud of his son’s career to date.
“Nobody,” the white haired man responded.
“Captain Decker perhaps. You two were always very close.”
“You never knew when to stop. There are some things that you just don’t meddle with and the Reapers are one of them.”
“I don’t like the way the world is going,” Josh responded passionately. “They are above the law and it seems as though nothing can stop them. People are afraid. They live in fear. You see fewer people on the Streets than you did a few years ago. Even children aren’t let play outside by some parents out of fear. Some people are afraid that their neighbours will rat on them. It’s not right. I don’t want my children to grow up in this kind of world.”
“Face facts. You don’t want your children to grow up without a Father either now, do you? You can’t take on the whole political establishment and the Reapers and hope to win. You’ll just be another statistic.”
“I used to look up to you. You were my hero. Now you’re just a guy who says don’t stick your neck out for anybody. There is something rotten going on here. I don’t think I can solve it but that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try. I owe it to Nick and the thousands of other innocents who have been purged by the President purely for his own gain.”
“Come on son, join the real world,” Aaron replied after taking a sip from the beer the barman had placed in front of him. “It ain’t perfect but it’s all about survival. Do as your colleagues do and it won’t be you being escorted away. Wouldn’t you say that your family and friends are what is most important to you? Listen to me and you won’t lose them.”
“Is family the most important thing or is doing the right thing the most important thing? You tell me.”
Aaron started to become exasperated. “It’s like trying to move a mountain with nothing but a toothpick.”
“Look, I don’t want to fight on your birthday,” Jake said after realising that they were like two old boxers who wouldn’t quit fighting and only ended up with broken bones and bruised heads for their troubles. “Can we change the subject? Who’s your favourite team nowadays anyway? You always changed teams depending on who was winning.”
Josh wanted to remember his Dad not only for being someone he looked up to, but the same Father who brought him and his siblings on summer holidays. He wanted to remember the same Dad who treated them to meals out and dessert in nice restaurants and who allowed him to stay up and watch sports or late night movies. There were so many good times that Josh did not want to fall out with him.
“That’s not fair. I’ve always been an Eagles fan at heart,” the older man responded, equally reluctant to continue sparring with his own son. “And you always supported the Cowboys because they were winning when you were a kid. Isn’t that so?”
“I’ve never even been to a game so you couldn’t exactly call me a fan now could you?”
“No,” Aaron replied as he lifted the beer to his mouth once more. “On the other hand, I’ve been to eleven games. It’s not much but it’s more than you.”
Josh Hastings wished the world could be perfect. He hoped that the only conversations he would have with his Father would be about Football or other things he enjoyed talking about. He didn’t want to have to make difficult choices. Part of him told himself that making difficult decisions was what life was meant to be about but another part of him told him that he wanted life to remain exactly how it was.
Josh and his Father walked home from the bar at 11:30pm. Aaron Hastings home was only a short walk away from the tavern. Once Josh saw his Father go inside, he turned around in the direction of his home. In the shadows on the far side of the street he could make out the shape of a man smoking a cigarette. This man slowly walked into the light. Josh recognised him instantly as Lee Harold Hoepecker.
“Nice night for a walk, isn’t it, Detective Hastings? We wouldn’t like anything to happen to your wife and family on a night like this, would we now?”
Josh’s blood ran cold. He hoped and prayed in his own mind that his family were safe.
Hoepecker was now only six feet away. “You leave them out of this,” Josh threatened him anxiously.
“Or what?” came the reply. “I’m just going to have me some fun. Six months in the slammer, is six months I’ll never get back. I did a lot of thinking. Mostly about you and the fun I was planning to have. When it comes down to it, I really don’t like you.” Hoepecker stopped as Josh continued walking. The walk then turned into a jog. He was too anxious to find out what if anything Hoepecker might have done. He could think of nothing else other than his wife and children. Their images kept flashing in his mind. He really didn’t care if the convict followed him or not. He desperately wanted his family to be safe.
Nervously he turned the key in the front door and opened it. He didn’t even pay attention as to whether he had closed it after him. He rushed up to Amy’s bedroom to check that she was alright. She was asleep and breathing normally.
“Josh,” Jean called out to him as he closed the door of Amy’s room behind him. “What is the matter with you? Is there something wrong? You left the front door wide open.” His wife was visibly concerned. It was if she suspected something terrible had happened and wanted to know the full truth.
“I guess I had too much to drink,” he said in a relieved manner.
“You were never much of a drinker. It doesn’t suit you. I can smell it off you. It’s not pleasant.” Her concern eased and relief was visible on her face.
Josh hugged and kissed his wife but knew inside that Lee Harold Hoepecker was a problem he would have to deal with sooner or later or he would regret it.
At 4:30am in the morning Josh’s mobile phone rang. He felt quite groggy but managed to climb out of bed to answer it.
“Hastings? It’s Luke. We think there’s a very big trade going down tonight and we need you there. Meet us at 121 Frederick Street as soon as you can.”
“Ok,” Josh replied before hanging up the phone. It wasn’t unusual for him to receive calls in the middle of the night, but he was a small bit apprehensive. He no longer had a hundred per cent trust in his colleagues, particularly over the Nick Jameson issue. Josh was afraid of being set up. The possibilities were endless. They could plant drugs on him. They could do anything to get him fired or worse. He hoped that his concerns were unfounded and that it was simply a storm in a teacup that he was worried about.
Jean was still asleep. Even while she slept she looked beautiful. She was a great wife with a good heart and he didn’t want to lose her.
The Police Detective got dressed as quickly as he could before checking on his children. He then left the house quietly, climbed into his car and drove away in haste.
After arriving at 121 Frederick Street, Josh pulled up beside, Bradshaw and Johansson’s vehicle. Three other detectives named Hutts, Polenski and Briggs were also there. Visibility was difficult because there was no moonlight and drizzle had been coming down ever since Detective Hastings had left the house.
121 Frederick Street was a large rundown warehouse that had not been in use in twenty years. Josh always wondered why it wasn’t knocked down and a more modern building constructed in its place.
One of the things that Josh noticed was that Scott, his partner wasn’t there. He trusted Scott and some others in his Precinct but not any of his colleagues who were present. It made him feel a little nervous.
“What’s happening?” Josh asked Bradshaw.
“There is a brewery, just over a hundred yards down the street,” he said pointing. “We received a tip off that a large consignment of drugs have been shipped there and that all the main players are inside, including Vicente.”
Josh had been working on the Vicente case for several weeks now. He was an emerging player in the drugs trade in the city, but also a ruthless one. He was 34 years old but had no criminal record. Thus far he had proven too elusive to the authorities. Josh feared that he had a large number of police officers and other officials in his back pocket. The decorated police detective was conscious of the possibility that even some of those he knew could be on Vicente’s payroll.
“Ok, so what’s the plan then?” Josh asked aloud.
“There are three entrances we believe are open at this point,” Luke responded as he produced a map of the brewery. He then laid it out on the bonnet of his car, used a flashlight to illuminate it and pointed to the three entrances. I suggest that Briggs and Polenski take the rear entrance. Johansson and Hutts can take the front entrance and myself and Hastings can take the side entrance. There is backup on standby, only a minute away. All we have to do is call it in. We also have eyes and ears in the brewery itself. Potts and his crew are in a van fifty yards up the street listening and recording everything going on in that building. They will give us the signal to move in.”
Josh and some of the other detectives put on their bullet proof vests and quickly made their way in the direction of the brewery. The constant drizzle was annoying as it seemed to seep through their clothes but that wasn’t the foremost thought on their minds. Before every assignment they hoped that they could get back in one piece.
Even Josh was nervous. No matter how many times he was in this situation before, he was always apprehensive.
The Brewery itself appeared to be a very large building. It was about sixty feet high and six hundred feet wide and long. It was difficult to make out any other details in the dark of the night.
“Two minutes everybody,” Luke whispered before the group of six went their separate ways.
Quietly Josh and Luke made their way to the doorway on the near side. Josh looked at his watch and waited. As soon as his watch clocked two minutes he slowly opened the door. Josh entered first in a quiet manner. He couldn’t hear anything. He was expecting the sound of voices, of an intense deal being done between criminals. He even thought there would be more activity in the brewery itself, perhaps machines working away in the background or a security guard shuffling about.
The brewery wasn’t very well lit at this time. Most of the lights appeared to focus on the ground floor but Josh had not progressed far enough to see what was downstairs. The decorated police officer was walking along a steel surface, surrounded by steel railings. It was effectively a narrow corridor. The two police detectives had entered the building from the third floor and were edging themselves closer, cautiously towards a well lit area ahead.
After walking quietly into the brewery for about fifteen feet, he turned to look at Luke. Officer Bradshaw gestured for Josh to keep moving. It was at this point that Josh started to question what he had been told. The mysterious call in the middle of the night without warning. The unlocked and unguarded doors of the Brewery. The perfect information that seemed to be at Bradshaw’s disposal of a deal taking place, despite the fact that it didn’t relate to a case he was working on. Even the Brewery itself may not have been active in several years. Josh started to seriously consider if this was a set up. It could be because of Vicente or it could be his prying into the Reapers activities. Perhaps he had stuck his nose out a little too far. Anxiously he turned once more to Luke, hoping for some reassurance but it was too late.
A Bullet ripped through Josh Hastings forehead. He died instantly.
Luke Bradshaw threw the gun on the floor and put the handkerchief he had used to hold it back in his pocket. He then descended the stairs and made his way to the middle of the building. Lee Harold Hoepecker was gagged and bound to a chair, watched by two armed policemen one of whom was Captain BT Decker.
“I knew he’d come in useful,” Officer Bradshaw declared with a smile, pointing to the bound and gagged felon. “He was only released three days ago.”
“O.K.” Captain Decker said aloud to the seven other police officers that were there, “we better act fast. You lot, lift this asshole up the stairs and throw him over. If he survives the fall he won’t remember anything.”
Three of the police officers including Bradshaw, Hutts and Johansson grabbed a bound and gagged Hoepecker from the chair and proceeded to do as instructed. Hoepecker struggled desperately to break free. The other police officers fled the scene.
“It would happen sooner or later,” Luke said aloud. “You would kill Hastings or some other innocent eventually and your life would be over. We’re just speeding up the process.”
They reached the top of the stairs with Hoepecker still bound and gagged.
“On three,” Luke declared as he indicated with a swinging motion that the plan was to throw Hoepecker down the stairs. “One, two, three,” he said slowly before throwing the career criminal down the stairs. Luke didn’t waste any time in untying Hoepeckers binds and removing them from the lifeless body. Officer Bradshaw rubbed the gun used to kill Detective Hastings against Hoepeckers hand and then dropped it on the ground. He gave the bindings to Hutts, who left via the back entrance. Johansson and Bradshaw remained at the scene until the nearest patrol car arrived to investigate the shooting.